Operation SUPPORT DEMOCRACY
Haiti, 1994
The U.S. and allied warships in CJTF 120 boarded
over 600 ships during the operation's first five months,
and the big ships' effectiveness soon drove the smugglers
to use vessels to carry contraband along shallow coastal
routes beyond the larger ships' reach.
CJTF 120 selected the Cyclone
class patrol craft (PC) as the best response to
the smugglers' new tactic. The PCs were new
to USSOCOM's inventory, and needed sea duty certification
before assignment to Haiti. After being certified
for participating in exercise Agile Provider, the
USS
Cyclone and the USS
Tempest departed for Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba, on 24 May to participate in SUPPORT DEMOCRACY.
On 30 May, CJTF 120 directed the PCs to begin operations
with the warships off the north Haitian coast.
The plan to integrate the PCs gradually into the interdiction
operation ended when the ships encountered a Bahamian
sailing vessel trying to skirt the embargo on their
very first voyage. As the vessel headed for
Port-au-Prince, the Cyclone ordered it to stand
clear of the Haitian coast, but the vessel did not
heave to until Cyclone fired warning flares and launched
a rigid hull
inflatable boat (RIB) with SEALs aboard.
The vessel attempted to play a waiting game that night,
but at first light a combined party from the Cyclone
and the HMCS Terra Nova - six Canadians and three
SEALs - conducted a boarding and search operation.
They found embargoed goods, and the Cyclone towed
this vessel to Guantanamo.
By 23 June 1994, the CJTF 120 fleet had boarded over
1100 ships, but embargoed good flowed steadily into
Haiti from the Dominican Republic. General John
M. Shalikashvili, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, approved the PCs conducting patrols with the
Dominican ships. On 11 July 1994, SEALs from
the Cyclone boarded and cleared the Vinland
Saga, a Danish vessel carrying a cargo of wheat
flour. CJTF 120 directed Cyclone and
Tempest to patrol the inner areas of the coast.
These operations provided an opportunity to check
sea traffic and collect information. The USS
Hurricane and USS
Monsoon patrol craft replaced the Cyclone
and Tempest in September.
Because of the continuing political repression in
Haiti, the Clinton Administration sought UN Security
Council approval for an invasion and occupation of
Haiti if the sanctions failed to restore Aristide
to the presidency. The council granted its approval
on 31 July 1994. The invasion plan had two phases:
first, a 15,000 multinational force would invade,
restore public order, and reinstate Aristide; subsequently,
6,000 UN forces would train a new Haitian police force
to maintain order.
Accordingly, Army, Air Force, and Navy SOF supported
the XVIII (Eighteenth) Airborne Corps in planning
for a full scale invasion of Haiti. The special
operations portion of the plan envisioned the takedown
of key governmental sites followed by a link-up with
conventional forces, similar to what SOF had done
for the invasion of Panama in 1989. After the
main takedown, Special Forces teams were to secure
the countryside. To serve as the SOF mobility
and launching platform, an aircraft carrier, USS America,
was added to the force package in spring 1994.
Next: Operation UPHOLD DEMOCRACY
